LESSON PLANNING
Long-term plans and unit plans are both large overviews of what my students need to learn. Daily lesson plans on the other hand, help me plan out every minute by minute the lesson I will present to my students. Developing an interesting lesson plan takes a great deal of time and effort. I must consider all my students learning styles, ability, and accommodations.
Table of Contents
Kindergarten Math Lesson Plan- Word Problem Addition
Kindergarten Lesson Story ELA Connection
Kindergarten “I Do” Step-by- Step Power Point
This lesson plan follows the gradual release of responsibility: I do, We do, You do. Scaffolded instruction is largely recognized as an effective approach for moving instruction from teacher-centered, whole group lessons to student-centered partner work and independent practice.
When creating this gradual release math lesson I used the backwards-planning approach. I think through information my students will need to know to complete work independently and plan for misconceptions they may have throughout the lesson. I consider all the different learning styles my students may have and try in incorporate kinesthetic, social, visual, logical, and solitary learning options into each lesson. In Baltimore city, teachers are considered highly effective when they incorporate the 9 teaching skills in effective instruction. I check each lesson to ensure that I am incorporating these skills daily. I ensure that my students are receiving the best possible instruction planning and teaching effective interesting lessons and adjusting my teaching depending on my students understanding, skills, and ability.
Kindergarten Lesson PowerPoint Story ELA Connection
Once I have created my lesson plan, I need to connect it to real-world experiences and other parts of learning. Connecting math and literacy will help make instruction be twice as likely to stick. Our thematic unit “Taking Care of the Earth” will foster students’ interest and create real-world connections to their learning. Ultimately, this will help them meet common instructional goals shared in both math and literacy.
Kindergarten “I do” Step-by-Step PowerPoint
After planning for connections, I design instructional materials and resources to engage students and that are appropriate to the learning of each student. For this lesson, I used PowerPoint to deliver the “I do” section of my lesson and to provide students with step-by-step instructions on how to work through an addition word problem. In early childhood, multiple step directions are difficult so we must work on this skill throughout the school year. I break larger steps into smaller and more achievable steps. I explain the reasoning behind these steps and point out to students what they should notice and remember in each step. Students cannot just be told what they need to do; they must also see. Using PowerPoint helps me provide a visual for students who are visual learners and need pictures and diagrams to understand the material.
Kindergarten Student Work Samples from Lesson
After students have an understanding of how the steps to solving an addition word problem, I move onto the “We do”. In the “We do” step students work with me to complete the steps that I modeled during the “I do” phase of the lesson. I become a coach for my students as they work in pairs to try and complete work. Once my students have demonstrated understanding, I can challenge them to try and complete the tasks independently. During the “You do” phases students practice reading an addition math story problem and attempt to use the strategies to help them solve the equation.
Challenge Problem
My classroom has an enormous range of student ability and understanding. What can be easy for some students can be rather difficult for others. This is why all work is differentiated during independent practice. For students who have a better understanding of reading and math, differentiated independent math problems may not be enough. I challenge these students to move beyond what we have learned in class by using the same strategies to answer larger addition word problems. Advanced students need opportunities to practice problem solving and the option of completing challenge problems gives them more practice to use their problem solving skills.
Kindergarten Lesson Reflection
A reflection is a powerful tool that helps me become a better teacher. I think back to the lesson and consider what went well in the lesson, what problems did I experience, and what could I have done differently?
During this lesson, a majority of my students were able to complete the work that was given to them with only minor mistakes. Some student adjustment is needed for tomorrow’s lesson. Students who successfully completed their differentiated work must be moved to the next group in order to push their learning. Most students received a 3/4 on their independent problem set. Top students who completed the challenge problem successfully should be given technology to help them make gains in addition word problems.
Starting the lesson with Brain Pop Jr. helped build engagement with my students. Students who were included in the power point story usually struggle to pay attention. Having their pictures on the screen helped to stay engaged with the materials. My class also loves to see their names in the story problems. Keeping them engaged through these little tricks really helps them stay focused on the task at hand. During the “I do” phase of my lesson students had many questions and found it difficult to wait to see if I would be able to answer their questions by working through the problem. In the future, I will ask students to hold questions until we come to our “We do”
The “We do” section of the lesson was very engaging for my students. Students have the ability to choose seating and a partner to work with. Students are accountable for each other’s learning they work together to make this happen. For students that are struggling, I use this time to really make the lesson accessible to them. I scaffold questions and choose them to come to the board to share their work.
During the “I do” I try to remain hands-off. This is important to do because it helps me understand which students need intervention times and what I will need to reteach. The majority of students works through the problems independently and use the strategies to come up with the solutions. Many students finished early and were able to use math centers at the end of the lesson.